(2:177).

Quite obviously, America is not an Islamic country, nor does it aspire to be. My point here is that Islam builds into its practice constant reminders for Muslim adherents to be conscious of the invisibles. This value coincides with fundamental American democratic and constitutional values. To the extent that it does, Muslim Americans should draw upon their own inspirations to be at the forefront of promoting positive American values.

It is worth mentioning that the Muslim Blackamerican combines attributes that render her contribution even more valuable for she possesses a triple-consciousness. S/he is Muslim, Black and American. As such, like other Blackamericans of faith, his or her makeup inspires the capacity for God-consciousness, human self-consciousness and Black consciousness. The latter constitutes the Blackamerican double-vision that comes from seeing themselves not only as they are, but through the gaze of others who look upon Blackamericans with a mixture of “amused contempt and pity.”10 Together, these multiple elements push the Black-american Muslim to have a constant regard for the invisibles and a passion for justice.

Indeed often, the Blackamerican Muslim, her family and community members are themselves invisible, even as some of her Muslim brethren garner visibility by gravitating towards the white American dream and, in the process, forgetting their own doubleconsciousness. The Blackamerican Muslim does not have that luxury. He is a minority on all fronts, cannot shed his identity, cannot easily reach visibility, certainly not on a community scale. In this regard, the Blackamerican Muslim represents the passenger on the bottom deck of the boat, the Muslim canary. With one eye on the canary and the other on God, the American Muslim community has internal impetuses to constantly urge America to see its own invisibles.

What are some concrete ways in which this can take form? In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, there are several projects to which Muslims can contribute and encourage contributions. Here, I do not limit these suggestions to victims of Katrina, since those in need of such services reside in every state. Nor do I limit these suggestions to the obvious form of giving: monetary donations. For this is not the scope of giving that Islam encourages and what society requires is much broader than that. Rather, I urge a range of measures with respect to the visibly urgent needs after Katrina that may help bring the needs of other invisible pockets to the fore.

In addition to the reminder provided by Ramadan annually and prescribed prayers daily, Muslims can join together with others peoples of faith in the mosque, church, and synagogue, to pray and work to help those in crisis situations in their local communities. This is the type of work in which The Mosque Cares11 organization in Chicago has been engaging for decades.

Community members and community organizations can contribute to efforts to address the root causes of suffering in the inner city by creating and promoting dynamic community programs as alternatives to difficulty and hopelessness. The Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN)12 in Chicago takes this as its mission, as should be duplicated in every city. The Jamestown Project,13 based in New Haven promotes such efforts on the scholarly and policy arenas. Community members or mosques can adopt-a-family to provide lodging, shelter, food, clothing or financial and moral support to those who need it. Some have contributed to the Adopt a Katrina Family project.14 Islamic Relief has turned its generally international focus inward to address some short-term and long-term humanitarian and reconstruction needs after Katrina;15 it also has a number of ongoing programs for feeding the homeless and providing health services to the needy.

Doctors can provide medical services to the poor for free or at reduced cost. An example of this is the University Muslim Medical Association (UMMA) Community Clinic16 in Los Angeles, or the IMAN17 Health Clinic Initiative.

Educators, college students and professionals can adopt a student in poor or mediocre schools to provide mentoring, college-counseling and to help ensure that the student receives a good education. An outstanding example of an organization dedicated to focusing on our youth is Brotherhood/ Sister Sol18 in New York. Community members can join efforts like those of the Islamic Networks Group,19 based in San Francisco, to provide educational resources to local schools and promote civic engagement of Muslims in public institutions.

Social workers can redouble their efforts to help address problems of domestic violence and children living in bad situations. Bait ul Salaam20 in Atlanta is an organization that provides homes for battered women. Those who live or work in the cities can help address the drug problems that run rampant there through donating or helping to replicate the work of community organizations. An example of one outstanding drug-recovery program of this type is I Can’t, We Can in Baltimore.21

Entrepreneurs and businessman can contribute to the efforts of community-oriented non-profit ventures, small business start-ups and job-training initiatives aimed at economic empowerment and viability. GraceLine products aims at facilitating such economic empowerment.

Lawyers can provide legal services to the multitude of cases that have arisen after Katrina and that existed before Katrina. For example, some of the most urgent needs involve criminal defense, to addresses situations in which prisoners have been displaced, are being improperly held in prison, or suffer Abu Ghraib-type prison abuse. The Justice Center (and its Louisiana Capital Assistance Center)22 is working to address these issues, and, as I have discovered, there is plenty that can be done remotely.

Community leaders should reign in the consciousness of the community in a way that moves toward publicly articulating shared American values, demanding policy action against ignoring (or worse, discriminating against) the invisibles, and contributing to or building projects like those listed here. Community leaders and members alike should seek out the invisibles to help address their problems; they should not wait for a crisis mode or for disaster to strike to discover the plight of their neighbors.